Al-Maghrib Al-Aqsa: Islamic Civilisation in Morocco
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Al-Maghrib Al-Aqsa: Islamic Civilisation in Morocco 30 MAR – 17 APR 2016 Code: 21603 Tour Leaders Dr Alex McKay Physical Ratings Explore Morocco’s rich culture in art, architecture, craft, custom & ritual in medieval cities with old palaces & teaming souks, on high mountain ranges & in pre-Saharan desert villages & fortresses. Overview Tour Highlights Dr Alex McKay introduces the distinctive history and cultural landscapes of Morocco Experience Morocco’s fascinating mix of Iberian, Arab, Berber and sub-Saharan cultures Wander through Fes, the world’s most perfectly preserved medieval city, and Chefchaouen, tomb city forbidden to foreigners until 1956 Delight all your senses in Marrakesh’s teaming, colourful suqs, with their textiles, jewellery, carpets, carved woodwork, and acrobats, snake charmers, letter writers and fortunetellers Journey across the pre-Sahara and through huge date palm plantations of verdant oasis river valleys Encounter the rich urban architecture of Andalucian mosques and madrasas, and desert mud-brick qasbars and villages whose form has not changed markedly since the time of Christ Cross Morocco’s majestic Middle, High and Anti Atlas mountain ranges, past small Berber mountain villages Eat fine local food in old palaces whilst listening to exquisite Andalucian music Visit Essaouira, arguably the world’s most colourful fishing port In Fes and Marrakesh, stay in charming traditional riads - El Yacout and Ksar Anika - both restored by local artisans and located in the medina; and in Erfoud and Tineghir, stay in desert fortresses converted to hotels. 19 days in Morocco Overnight Rabat (3 nights) • Tangier (1 night) • Chefchaouen (1 night) • Fes (4 nights) • Erfoud (1 night) • Tineghir (1 night) • Ait Ben Haddu (3 nights) • Marrakesh (4 nights) Overview Morocco possesses a rich artistic and cultural heritage which displays a remarkable continuity with the past. This tour, led by Alex McKay, a former research fellow and lecturer in history at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies, explores the dynamics of this continuity and the Mediterranean, African and Arab influences that have contributed to Morocco's unique identity. Our tour travels from Rabat to Marrakesh in a huge arc through Morocco's breathtakingly beautiful and varied landscapes, from the mountainous Mediterranean north to the pre-Sahara. Snaking valleys of green date palms stand out against an austere pink, grey and yellow backdrop of mountain and desert. We visit the Mediterranean-influenced towns of Tangier and Chefchaouen before exploring the ruins of Roman Volubilis and the nearby imperial Islamic cities of Meknes and Fes. We head south through the Atlas Mountains to the pre-Saharan oasis valleys of the Ziz, Tudgha and Dra'a rivers. Their mudbrick towns and villages - Sijilmasa, Tinghir, Ouarzazate and Tamgrut - served as staging posts in the medieval trans-Saharan trade. They boast traditional Berber architecture. We return across the dramatic High Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh, Morocco's southern capital, and the port town of Essaouira. This tour offers powerful contrasts. We negotiate Fes’ crowded souqs, where diverse sounds and smells assault your senses. We pass from teeming narrow streets into the quietude of beautiful Marinid madrasas. The vast, open vistas of the pre-Sahara and Atlas Mountains seem completely unpopulated until you enter a verdant oasis in which every inch of arable ground is cultivated, where children play noisily, adults tend luxuriant plots and donkeys carry huge loads of hay, dates, grain or wood. Urbanites of Fes whose families have inhabited its old medina for centuries likewise contrast to sub-Saharan Africans whose forebears were brought to oases like Erfoud as slaves. Special features of this tour are stays in the Riad El Yacout in Fes’s medina which features ceramic tiles (zelliges), plaster and sculpted wood; and the Riad Ksar Anika, located in the Mellah area of Marrakesh’s souq. Al-Maghrib Al-Aqsa: Islamic Civilisation in Morocco November 2014 Page 2 Leaders Dr Alex McKay Seasoned traveler & well-published scholar from London’s School of Oriental & African Studies, Alex enriches ASA Bhutan, Silk Road, North India & Moroccan tours with profound experience & insights. Dr Alex McKay is a former research fellow and lecturer in history at London University School of Oriental and African Studies, University College London, and the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden (The Netherlands). He has a BA (hons.) in Religious Studies and a doctorate in history. Now retired and living in the Manning Valley (NSW), he has a particular interest in the encounters between different societies, religions, and cultures, and he continues to publish and to attend international conferences in these areas . While most of his publications concern Asia, Alex first visited Morocco in 1974 and he has travelled there around a dozen times over the last 20 years. He considers the variety that the land offers, the bustling souks, spectacular Kasbahs, desert horizons, majestic Islamic public and private architecture, along with Morocco’s fresh cuisine and its traditions of hospitality, make it the ideal holiday destination. Alex has previously led ASA tours along the Silk Road (2011 & 2013), Bhutan (2009, 2010 & 2011), China and Tibet (2010) and Morocco (2014) and will lead tours to Bhutan (2014) and the foothills of north India (2015). Al-Maghrib Al-Aqsa: Islamic Civilisation in Morocco November 2014 Page 3 Itinerary The detailed itinerary provides an outline of the proposed daily program. Participants should note that the daily activities described in this itinerary may be rotated and/or modified in order to accommodate changes in opening hours, road conditions, flight schedules etc. Participants will receive a final itinerary together with their tour documents. The tour includes breakfast, lunch and evening meals each day. Meals included in the tour price are indicated in the detailed itinerary where: B= breakfast, L= lunch and D=evening meal. Bottled water will also be provided daily during site excursions. Rabat - 3 nights Day 1: Wednesday 30 March, Arrive Casablanca – Rabat Archaeological Museum Upon arrival we shall transfer directly from the airport to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. In the afternoon (time-permitting) we shall visit Rabat’s Archaeological Museum, which contains artifacts from Morocco’s prehistoric, Phoenician and Roman periods, and watch the sunset from the Udaya Café while enjoying a glass of Moroccan mint tea. (Overnight Rabat) D Day 2: Thursday 31 March, Rabat Hassan Tower Mausoleum of Muhammad V Marinid Necropolis of Chellah Royal Palace Al-Maghrib Al-Aqsa: Islamic Civilisation in Morocco November 2014 Page 4 Medina of Rabat Qasba of the Udaya (Gardens & Museum) Welcome Dinner at Restaurant Le Ziryab Rabat is situated on the southern bank of the Bu Regreg River, across from the town of Salé. A Roman town existed in the vicinity but modern Rabat is a Muslim foundation. The name ‘Rabat’ comes from the Arabic word ribat which means a fort on the Islamic frontier, usually manned by Muslims as a religious duty. Such a fort existed on the site of modern Rabat by the tenth century. Rabat’s earliest monuments, however, date from the Almohad period (1147 – 1248). The Almohads expanded the settlement by building a qasba, or fortress, during the reign of ‘Abd al-Mu’min, the second leader of the Almohad movement. ‘Abd al- Mu’min’s grandson, Ya’qub al-Mansur, transformed Rabat into his capital by constructing an extensive defensive wall around the town, and initiating the construction of the huge Hassan Mosque, the sister to the Almohad mosques in Seville and Marrakesh. The three-mile Almohad walls and qasba boast six fine monumental gateways including the Bab al-Udaya and the Bab al-Ruwah. Foremost among these is the Bab al-Udaya, the gateway to the Qasba of the Udaya, which possesses extremely fine sculptural proportions. This gateway served a symbolical rather than military purpose: it acted as a triumphal arch leading into the qasba, a fortress and palace in one. The gateway contains three domed chambers which served as anterooms for those wishing to enter the qasba, and created an angled entrance, a common feature in later Islamic palaces such as the Alhambra. The Bab al- Ruwah on the southern side of Rabat was equally ornate. The gateway was flanked by two huge square turrets which were intended to be massive but simple frames for the portal façade rather than defenses. Both gateways are decorated with characteristic Almohad blind cusped arches and scallops carved in stone, a motif which influenced many church portals on the pilgrim route to Santiago. Rabat’s other Almohad monument, the Hassan Mosque, was never finished and all that remains are a series of huge columns from its hypostyle prayer hall, and the Hassan Tower, originally the mosque’s minaret. The size of the Hassan Mosque gives a measure of the ambition of its founder; its length of 1,800 feet and width of 1,377 feet, would have made it one of the largest mosques in the Islamic world. Only the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq, no longer in use by the time of Ya’qub al-Mansur, surpassed these dimensions. The minaret (1195-1196), stands to the north of the mosque’s forecourt on an axis with its mihrab in order to emphasize the mosque’s orientation. It was meant to be one of the largest minarets in the world, although its upper section was either never built, or collapsed in an earthquake. The structure and decoration of the Hassan Tower, including the blind arches and beautiful decorative screen-work on its upper façade, provided the prototype for the Giralda of Seville, and the minaret of the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh. The mausoleum of Muhammad V, an example of modern Moroccan architecture, is located at the south end of the Hassan Mosque site.